Senate budget chair believes that special session on tax reform is still a long way off

ERLANGER – Senate Appropriations and Revenue Chair Sen. Chris McDaniel, R-Taylor Mill, believes that a lot of work is going to have to be done before a special session on tax reform can be called by the Gov. Matt Bevin in 2017.

McDaniel acknowledges when and if a special session is going to happen it’s totally up to Gov. Matt Bevin, but doesn’t see it happening for quite some time.

“I just don’t think that any plans that could be out there have had enough time to develop momentum,” McDaniel said. “I think that there’s some fundamental things that everybody has to remember, the first of which is 65 percent of this state lives on a border. So, tax reform means, like we discussed before, something totally different in northern Kentucky than it does in Pikeville, than it does down in Hickman County, and so we have to be very sensitive to the geography that is associated with this.”

McDaniel believes that the 2017 session, which wraps up on March 29 and 30 after the 10 day veto period, has been one of the most productive in history and says that GOP legislators have made sure to do what the majority of Kentucky voters have wanted.

“You know, from the first week when we dealt with things like prevailing wage reform and right to work, and major policy items, making legislative pensions more transparent, right on through the balance of the session where we dealt with criminal justice reform and juvenile justice reform.”

McDaniel says that the General Assembly is not finished with their work and 2017 and says look for action on a number of pieces of legislation when lawmakers return to Frankfort on March 29.

“We need to get justice reform across the finish line in some form,” McDaniel said. “I also think it is important to address pension spiking.”

Both the House and Senate are schedule to reconvene at noon on March 29.

Don Weber

Don Weber is a Video Journalist for Spectrum News and covers politics and education on Pure Politics, Kentucky’s only nightly program dedicated to state politics. Don is a lifelong Kentuckian and a graduate of Northern Kentucky University. He spent many years covering sports in the Northern Kentucky area before shifting primarily to politics. You can watch Don’s work weeknights at 7:00 and 11:30 on Pure Politics, available exclusively on Spectrum News, HD Channels 403 and 715. If you have a story idea you can reach Don at donald.weber@charter.com.